Marquette, Michigan: one week for a wrecked or dead car

The one-week rule, piece by piece

• Who answers for it. The rule names anyone in charge of the property "as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or otherwise." A renter with a dead car behind the house is covered as much as the landlord.
• What it covers. A car that is partly taken apart, does not run, has been wrecked, or is junk. The section is headed "Storage of unlicensed vehicles."
• Where it may stay. The exemption the section spells out for stored cars is an enclosed building. Throwing a tarp over a car in a Marquette side yard does not turn it into a building.

Streets, lots and the parkway

Section 32-92 puts a 48-hour limit on public ground. Any vehicle, "whether operable or inoperable," parked continuously on a street, alley or public lot "in excess of 48 hours shall be presumed abandoned" and can be impounded. Removal and storage costs belong to the owner and are settled before the car is released.

Section 46-67 lists the parking infractions, and two of them trip up people shuffling a dead car around. One bans parking on the parkway, "that area defined as from the curb to the sidewalk," paved or unpaved. The other covers parking without permission against a posted sign on public or private property. Rolling the car down to the grass by the curb, or into a store lot with posted limits, trades one violation for another.

A car abandoned on land belonging to someone else is handled by state law instead. Under MCL 257.252a, the landowner may call a towing agency, which tells police before hauling it off. After the car is in custody, the state finds the owner within 7 days. The notice then says the car may be sold if 20 days go by with no redemption and no hearing request.

Michigan paperwork, from Marquette

Michigan prints titles at the state level, through Department of State (SOS) branch offices; Marquette County plays no part. The buyer gets the original title. You write in the mileage, complete the seller's section, and sign. A second owner on the title signs too. The SOS list of seller steps contains no notary.

A wrecked car may already carry a brand. The SOS dealer manual says a late-model Marquette car turns salvage when repair costs come to 75% of its pre-damage value but less than 91%, and scrap once they reach 91% or more. A scrap-titled car is only good for parts or scrap metal. A Marquette owner can also choose to request a salvage or scrap title, however old the car is and however much damage it has. More on that in salvage title.

Pull the plate when the car changes hands. You can put it on a different vehicle you own or buy. The buyer gets three days to bring the car home. Michigan has no release form. Otherwise, MCL 257.240 has a Marquette seller save proof for 18 months. That can be a photocopy of the signed-over title, or a page signed by the buyer with their name, address, driver's license number, the sale date and the price. Going to the branch with the buyer works as well.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. Send the form about your Marquette car. Our truck reaches hillside driveways, rented garages, or a repair shop that has run out of space. Statewide rules are on the Michigan page, and the closest town page is Traverse City.